


Locked Doors | XiuChen | EXO

by kaisoo_chanbaek_xiuchen



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Drug Dealing, Gangs, Kidnapping, Lima Syndrome, OT12 - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-13 17:04:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17491856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaisoo_chanbaek_xiuchen/pseuds/kaisoo_chanbaek_xiuchen
Summary: Working as an art dealer for 5 years? Pretty boring.Being kidnapped in the middle of the night and being told you're dealing drugs without realizing it? Not as boring.Being kidnapped and being told you're dealing drugs without knowing it by someone that knew you in school, yet has absolutely no recollection of who you are, whatsoever? Definitely not boring, if you ask Jongdae.





	1. Awake and Confused

**Author's Note:**

> My first XiuChen, as well as first post on AO3! I apologise in advance for any errors in the writing, and I hope you like it!

Jongdae had always thought his life was boring. Nothing exciting ever happened, and nothing exciting was really supposed to happen for someone like him.

 

Most would think having a job as an art dealer would bring beautiful pieces of art into his life, and he'd meet all kinds of artists or collectors - overall, it was assumed to be an interesting trade. But after his first year of the work, Jongdae lost his interest in it. He was stuck as an art dealer for over five years now, and like every day, he'd woken up, showered, eaten and went to work. Like every day, he complained to himself after his last client of the day left that he needed something new, something different.

 

When he whined about wanting something to change, waking up dangling over some stranger's shoulder while blindfolded was definitely _not_ what he had in mind.

 

He could've sworn he had gone to bed in - well, in his bed. He remembered it, though not as clearly as his memory usually allowed; he got home, made a simple dinner of pasta and red sauce, watched some Knowing Brother re-runs then headed off to bed. He couldn't seem to recall anything out of the ordinary in his apartment, unless his choice to crack open the window before he went to bed counted. He usually froze when he slept with the window open, but the apartment seemed more muggy than usual and he couldn't help but unlock and push the glass open just a smidge…

 

 _Wait_.

 

He unlocked and opened the window in his room. The window that counted as an escape exit in case of a building fire… there were stairs out there.

 

Jongdae wanted to curse at his idiocy. He knew the neighborhood he lived in was a little sketchy - he'd heard there were some drug dealers in passing here and there. Hell, even the landlord advised he locked the apartment up nice and tight while he was out if he made a lot of money, since the neighborhood was known for the occasional break-in and robbery.

 

He kept quiet yet frustrated and stared into the black blindfold on his face as he listened to - was it two? The two voices conversing. Was the blindfold even black? Or was it still night time, and it was dark enough for him not to see a tint of colour from the cloth? Oh, why did that matter? Someone was carrying him over their shoulder like a sack of potatoes!

 

He'd been kidnapped. _He'd been kidnapped?_

 

Before the panic could take over Jongdae's mind, his ears tuned in again, and he listened carefully, doing his best to listen to the footsteps instead of the conversing voices. With every footfall, he heard something like a crunch. Maybe rustling. Leaves, perhaps? He could hear crickets chirping and the occasional flail of a bird's wings, but other than that, there was nothing indicating where he was being carried off to.

 

He could smell the faint scent of pine needles and damp Earth. It had rained the day before - if it was even around the same time he went to bed. He really hoped it was, because if he wanted to escape he'd have to know how long it had taken for these people to carry him to wherever they were. For now, he could only assume he was being carried through some trees, maybe a forest path.

 

Oh, god. Why were they carrying him out into a forest?

 

Jongdae was just about ready to scream when the voice of the man carrying him spoke a little louder, earning his attention. "I just want a nice, easy life. Is it too much to ask for that?"

 

A snort was what the question got in response, shortly followed by, "it's a bit of a tall order now, genius. You don't join gangs for an easy life." The man sighed, and hiked Jongdae further onto his shoulder when he started sliding down the man's front a bit. Jongdae did his best not to groan as the man's shoulder dug up under his ribcage, and frowned as his face smacked the man's backside.

 

"Well I know that! I meant I wanted to… oh, I don't know. Do something less… mean? It's literally my third week with you guys and I've already assisted in the kidnapping of some art nerd." Jongdae frowned to himself at that remark. He wasn't an art nerd, he just dealt with art. What the hell made this idiot think he was a nerd?

 

If one of Jongdae's friends were with him and could hear his thoughts, he was sure someone would say something like, "the fact that the remark annoys you confirms that you're a nerd, Jongdae." But he was stuck with listening to these two converse.

 

"He's an artwork dealer, Loey, not a critic or nerd or whatever. And if you wanted something less 'mean', you should've offered to work with bugs or hacking." The second, more smooth and calm voice stated. He added, "this isn't even the 'meanest' thing Kris has had us do, believe me. Kidnapping a guy out of his apartment is closer to our friendly side than you realize."

 

There was a grunt in response, as if 'Loey' was dissatisfied with the other's words, then he said, "why did we have to grab him anyway? Does he deal coke on the side or something? Maybe he scammed Kris out of some money-"

 

"I don't deal coke, that's illegal!"

 

Jongdae wanted to slap himself the moment he allowed his mouth to blurt that. It was like the logical half of his brain switched off for a moment and let the emotional half take the lead. The arms holding Jongdae over Loey's shoulders habitually tightened and the shoulder digging into his ribs tensed.

 

"Coke is off-limits, but everything else? Perfectly legal." Sarcasm laced the voice that responded to Jongdae's exclamation, and Jongdae deflated more than he already was over Loey's shoulders. "You know what I mean… um… Mister Kidnapper."

 

"'Mister'? I like this guy, he's polite even when in tough situations." Jongdae couldn't stop himself from sighing and anxiously blabbering, "Of course I'll still be polite. Tough situations are tough, but I was raised to be nice in any situation and I plan to stick to my morals, thank you very much."

 

"Morals are good. I definitely think we'll get along…" he heard a rustling of paper - maybe it had been crumpled up in a fist, or carefully folded and tucked into the pocket of the second man's shirt. Jongdae didn't know, didn't really care too much about it when the voice concluded with a tone of curiosity, "…mister Jongdae Kim. Huh."

 

"I said I'd be polite, I can't assure you I'll get along with you- or anyone else I meet, for that matter…"

 

"Did I miss something?" Loey cut in, deep voice sounding genuinely confused and troubled. "You wake up hanging off some stranger's shoulder, blindfolded, and your first action is to deny the assumption that you deal drugs? And then you continue having a clearly uncomfortable-yet-casual conversation with one of your kidnappers?"

 

"I think he's just a nervous chatter, Loey. You can ask him once we're inside - I'll get the door."

 

"Buddy's right; I can't really control whatever leaves my lips when I'm uncomfortable - Loey, was it? A-And as lovely as your build may be based off of the muscles of your back that my nose keeps hitting, I don’t think anyone would be comfortable dangling over your shoulder like a newly bought sack of rice first thing after regaining consciousness and-" Jongdae sniffed. "Is that a campfire I'm smelling? I'm so confused…"

 

"Well you can't expect to be completely oriented in a situation like this, Dae. If it makes you feel better, no, it's not a campfire." Something about the stranger calling him Dae gave Jongdae an even more uncomfortable feeling. There was a little edge to his voice as he sarcastically replied with a quiet, "gee, thanks, stranger- whoa!"

 

Without a word of warning, Jongdae was sliding off of Loey. He landed with a thud on what felt like wooden floor boards, and he realized he'd been carried to the interior of a building when he heard the door he missed earlier creaking shut, and clicking with a lock. Just as quickly as he landed on his ass, he was tugged up by the wrists that he then noticed were bound with what felt like duct tape.

 

"Sorry about that," Loey's voice sounded truly apologetic as he fussed over Jongdae, leading him blindly off in some direction in the building he'd been manhandled to in his sleep. "I meant to put you on the couch or coffee table but I lost my grip-"

 

"Lo, we're not here to apologize for his boo-boos. Let's go." Loey said nothing and tugged Jongdae a bit harder than before, and Jongdae shivered as he felt a temperature difference between the room he was dropped in and the room Loey must've pulled him inside. He felt his gut do a bit of a flip when there seemed to be no floor beneath the foot he lifted, and he silently swallowed as the nameless second voice said, "oh, stairs, Dae."

 

Jongdae said nothing, still a little put off with the use of the nickname. He couldn't decipher whether or not it was mocking or teasing in any way. He was still put off by the fact that holy shit he was kidnapped. He should run when he can, get the duct tape off his arms when he sweats enough for it to stop sticking. He could sock Loey in the face after he ditched the blindfold, manage a way around the second guy - maybe slam a door on his nose or something. He could navigate his way through the trees or forest or wherever the flying fuck they'd brought him to, find civilization and a phone, call the authorities for help-

 

Another door shut. A lock clicked behind him. Loey's hands left his wrists, and a smaller, tad bit cooler hand nudged him blindly forwards from behind. Jongdae stumbled a bit, but did not trip or fall, and he tensed when he felt hands grab at the back of the blindfold. A long minute passed before he felt the final tug of the blindfold, felt it loosen from around his eyes, temples, ears… it dropped, and he was momentarily blinded again. Only this time it was from the abrupt, harsh lighting of the room he'd been brought to.

 

He squinted his eyes and blinked in complete and utter confusion as his eyes adjusted to the light. The room around him became clearer to him bit by bit, and he was able to spot the only basement window, boarded up on the outside of the glass, before a face popped into his vision. One he didn't expect to see.

 

"Minseok?" Jongdae blurted, brows raising in even more confusion. Minseok, the owner of the second, nameless voice, hardened his gaze on Jongdae and coldly said, "it's Xiumin to you, goody-two-shoes."

 

A man taller than both Minseok and Jongdae stepped up to Minseok's side, his curly brown hair a tad sweaty at the bangs. His ears stuck out comically and he looked just as confused as Jongdae as he took Jongdae's duct-taped wrists and began picking at the edge to get it off. "How does he know your name…?" Loey, Jongdae realized, murmured to Minseok. Minseok shot the same glare he had aimed at Jongdae at Loey and shortly quipped, "how should I know? I don’t know the guy-"

 

"You don't know me- bullshit! We went to high school together, remember? Well, not together, you're older than me, but-" Jongdae exclaimed, frustrated at the genuinely unbelieving look on Minseok's face. "Oh, come on! I'm not that forgettable," Jongdae sulked, purely convinced the Minseok who just kidnapped him was the Minseok on the school's student council, 2 years ahead of him. "You got assigned to showing me around the school on my first day in Seoul, how can you _not_ remember me? You called me 'Dino Dude'." Jongdae pouted, flustered both by how awkward he'd just made this previously anxiety-inducing situation and by the fact that fucking Minseok Kim, honors student, head of the wrestling team and head of student council didn't remember him.

 

"Either you're really good at distracting people and you've already devised an escape plan, or you're just desperate to get on my good side." Minseok deadpanned, expression purely void of any interest in what Jongdae was rambling on about. Loey shrugged and gave him a look as he finally tugged off the duct tape from Jongdae's wrists.

 

"I don't know, Xiu. He seems dead serious."

 

"Because I _am_ dead serious, Minseok!"

 

"Hey, hey, don't raise your voice." Minseok curtly ordered, running a hand through his wavy, inky black hair. "That definitely won't get you on anyone's good side." Jongdae groaned and rubbed at his wrists that were raw and sore from the strip of duct tape that had been ripped off of his skin, and did a full 360° turn as he looked around the room. It was just a dull old basement room.

 

The dark oak wood door behind him was shut and locked, as he heard earlier, and the floors were matching dark oak as well. The walls were a plain, unpainted beige, and there was nothing in the room save for the small, undressed twin sized bed tucked into the far left corner against the back wall. There was another door next to the head of the bed that was cracked open, but the light in that room was off so Jongdae couldn't see what was inside. Maybe a small bathroom?

 

"Quit your twirling, ballerina. Sit down. We're going over a few things here." Minseok ordered, grabbed at Jongdae's bicep, tugging in the direction of the bed. Jongdae squeaked at the rough hold Minseok had on his arm, but kept his lips sealed as Minseok added, "call me Minseok again and I'll snap your arm." Jongdae huffed and sat on the bed like the two - well, one stranger and one familiar directed him to. Before he could mutter any complaints, maybe accuse Minseok of lying to Loey for whatever reason he was lying for, Loey turned to Minseok and said, "So what did he do? You're gonna tell me why we kidnapped him, right? I mean you're gonna tell him why, anyway, right?"

 

Minseok sent him a small glare, but not a threatening one; simply a glare to say he was getting there. Then, he turned to face Jongdae, and bluntly said,

 

"You've been selling drugs and we need to know where the guy who's giving them to you to sell is."


	2. Confused and Annoyed

Jongdae didn't know whether Minseok was joking or being totally serious.

 

Selling drugs? Him? He was pretty sure he'd notice if he had anything illegal in the workspace granted to him for selling paintings and artworks - he'd be paranoid about getting caught with anything illegal.

 

He stuck with the blatant question anybody as frazzled as him would ask. "You're kidding, right? This is all a really stupid prank," he pointed to Minseok, "you remember me," he pointed to Loey, "you're some guy he's friends with and convinced to help him with all this," he motioned to the entire room and huffed out, "and this is just your parent's summer cottage basement. Right?"

 

He felt he made the right decision of not using Minseok's real name to finish his sentence, because the measly assumption that he vocalized had Minseok glaring at him again and Loey avoiding his eyes awkwardly off to the side.

 

Giving an irritated sigh, Minseok brought his hands to his face, as if he were attempting to wipe away the idiocy Jongdae had spewed in response to his words. Loey cleared his voice and offered the most comforting thing Jongdae had seen since he'd woken up; a smile. It was small, and it looked like he was hoping Minseok wouldn't turn to see his expression as he said, "I hate to break it to you, but, uh…"

 

Any sense of hope that this really was a stupid prank plummeted out of Jongdae's system, and his naturally upturned lips tugged down in a frown. Whether it was out of sadness or panic, he couldn't really decipher. He didn't spend his time figuring it out for himself, since Minseok pulled his hands from his face and pushed them into his pockets as he opened his mouth the speak.

 

"We'll go over rules first - rule one is you have to shut up. For now, anyway." Jongdae pursed his lips but held no intention of staying silent while Minseok spoke to him like a disobedient child. He'd start asking questions when he wanted answers. He was going to be stubborn, because whoever it was these guys were after, he wouldn't give away where they were - he couldn't, since he didn't even know who they were talking about.

 

Minseok paused before he spoke again and narrowed his eyes at Jongdae, but said nothing threatening or deprecating in any way. Jongdae thought he stopped to glare at him because he could read the stubbornness forming on his face, but nothing on the other's face showed he was suspicious. He didn't like the Minseok he was speaking to now, but he still wasn't sure if him malfunctioning like that was normal.

 

"Xiu?"

 

Minseok waved a dismissive hand at Loey and muttered, "just thinking." As quickly as he dismissed both Loey's and Jongdae's odd looks, he spoke. "The rules, right - don't talk, that'll save us a lot of time we could be spending somewhere else. You don't leave this room and if you're smarter than you're leading on, you won't try breaking out. Don't do anything stupid, either."

 

Jongdae scoffed, crossing his arms. "Define 'stupid' for me. I've got a feeling I'll struggle to differentiate stupidity and survival after you two leave me." His response earned him a look from Minseok and another awkward avoidance of eye-contact from Loey. Jongdae expected the slap to the side of his head that Minseok dealt him without a moment's hesitation, but he still squeezed his eyes shut and clasped a hand to his temple where Minseok's palm made an unpleasant collision.

 

"Anything that's not staying in this room and being a good boy is stupid," Minseok somewhat seethed, before giving a roll of his eyes and saying, "that door there is the bathroom, so don't be a dumbass and use the bathroom as an excuse for us to let you out, got it?" Jongdae rolled his eyes in return, his hand still soothing the place he'd been struck. Minseok's hand made quick contact with Jongdae's cheek on the other side of his face in a swift backhanded motion, and he hissed, "don't roll your eyes and answer me, twit."

 

"Got it, Xiumin." Jongdae seethed, willing the tears accumulating on his lower lids away. Now his cheek stung, his head echoed with the pain of a future headache and he was pretty sure both sides of his face were red. He rubbed the sting on this cheek as he mumbled with irritation, "when did you get so violent…"

 

A hand was raised in a threatening manner and Jongdae was quick to shield his head with his arms, one knee up to cover his front side. He was still protecting his head when Minseok said, "do you want to know why you're here or not?"

 

"You already told me-" Jongdae shielded himself again as Minseok raised a threatening hand for a fourth time and whined, "Jesus, stop slapping me! You're like an angry person backhanding their ex when they find out they cheated." Loey snorted, but pursed his lips when Minseok's gaze landed on him, and Loey shrugged. "You're a little slap-happy today, I can't lie, Xiu."

 

Minseok let out a deep sigh, letting off some steam before clasping his hands together. "So," he started curtly, "you've been selling drugs and you didn't know, clearly-"

 

Jongdae opened his mouth to make another annoyed and snarky remark, but Loey cleared his throat, shaking his head subtly at Jongdae. Jongdae already knew being a pain in the ass wouldn't be fun for him, considering Minseok had no problem hitting him like a piñata, but he couldn't help it. He'd already told himself he would be a stubborn mule, and Minseok didn't seem to be changing back to the guy Jongdae used to know anytime soon so he didn't have a reason to take back his decision.

 

"Obviously ." He clipped, rather than the lengthy, sure-to-earn-a-few-beatings response. He guessed the upside of the whole situation was that Loey seemed friendly and more worried over Jongdae's well-being. If the giant of a man was gonna stick with silent head shakes and coughs to keep Jongdae from a nice smack, Jongdae would pay a little more attention.

 

Minseok pursed his lips at the single response and sighed yet again before he pinched his nose. "Okay, how about I say you're allowed to talk, as long as I find it relevant. Clearly you aren't a rule-follower and you can't keep your mouth shut for less than a second."

 

"I don't find that fair considering nothing I plan to say would be relevant to you, only to me, because you only care about finding whoever is supposedly giving me drugs - which, I assure you, I haven't been near any drugs and wouldn't willingly go near any with a ten foot pole - and I just care about whether I'm gonna live to see my next birthday or not."

 

Minseok blinked at Jongdae, his face blank, though his eyes flickered with a mix of irritation and- what was that? Jongdae couldn't tell if he was making out a little interest or if he was malfunctioning now, thanks to Minseok's slaps. He couldn't help but add, "thank you for not hitting me. Can I add that I probably won't shut up anytime soon because I've been fucking kidnapped thank you very much."

 

There was a beat of silence, then Minseok said, "scrap the rules. I think I'll just hit you when I feel like it. Now-"

 

"Wait, all the rules or just the talking rules? Because if I'm allowed to leave the room when I want to then-"

 

"I'm gonna duct tape you again if you don't stop cutting me off, and you don't want that, do you?

 

"I don't desire that, no."

 

"I figured. You can talk, you cannot leave. Okay?"

 

"Okay."

 

"Okay. Now-"

 

"Do you think Kris would mind if I bought marshmallows for the fireplace? Is that allowed?"

 

Minseok's eye twitched at Loey's sudden intrusion. Loey had a genuine look of wonder on his face, waiting for a serious answer to his inquiry. Jongdae blanched because Minseok looked ready to harpoon the poor guy through the wooden boards over the window.

 

"Because if I can roast marshmallows over the fireplace, the cabin will probably smell like sugar, but I haven't eaten since-" Loey shut his mouth at the look on Minseok's face. Then he nodded to the room door and backed up a few steps. "I think I'll call him to ask. If I don't come back down, I left for marshmallows."

 

"You go do that, Loey." Minseok said, patience slowly slipping from his tone. "I'll go do that." Loey concluded. He turned fully and went to the door, unlocking it with a key from his pocket before shutting the door behind him and locking it from the outside. It fell silent in the basement room, and Minseok turned back to Jongdae, his face clearly struggling to keep calm and tolerant. He opened his mouth… and then the door unlocked and opened again.

 

"If I'm allowed the marshmallow roasting, do you want some s'mores? I can pick up graham crackers and choc-"

 

"Loey." Loey's paled a bit at Minseok's tone, the shorter man still staring at Jongdae as he seethed over the goliath behind him. He had a look that ensured injury if anyone interrupted him again, and a satisfied smile graced his features as Loey muttered, "I'll just grab marshmallows, I don't really want s'mores." With a hesitant wave goodbye directed at Jongdae, the door shut and locked again.

 

The room fell silent. It stayed silent for what felt like hours to Jongdae, but it was truly only about 2 minutes before Minseok ran a frustrated hand through his hair and locked eyes with Jongdae. "I'll bet my right foot he's gonna come back and ask if we want drinks, the tall idiot." He muttered. Jongdae couldn't place if he was serious or not, but his mouth spluttered, "I favor my ability to walk a bit much to bet a whole foot."

 

Minseok stared at him for a short moment, and, anxious under his eyes, Jongdae twiddled his thumbs and avoided making eye contact again as he said, "I take it he's not the brains of the duo?" Minseok shook his head. "He's not completely stupid, he's just a little non-observant at the wrong times. He's new, so it doesn't help." Jongdae gave a slow nod and quietly hummed in understanding, and Minseok released the umpteenth sigh of the hour.

 

"Now," he said breathily, relief leaking through the single word. "You didn't know you had been selling drugs which means you probably won't know where the fuck you're getting them from. We know who you're getting them from - what we want to know is where they're getting the drugs from."

 

"And to figure that out you kidnapped me because you seem to think I know where they are?" Minseok nodded and Jongdae wheezed out a humorless laugh. "I have a lot of people that I deal artwork for, buddy, so that's your first problem. Second problem is that if I've gone missing and I'm the supposed link between their druggy customers and them, then they'll know something's up. And they won't have me to give the drugs to anymore. They'll find someone else. I'd say you're out of luck with me."

 

"We've covered both of those problems, but I applaud you for trying." Minseok said, a mocking grin on his face. "Like I said; we know who it is we're looking for, we just need to know more about them and then we can find them. The second problem was taken care of before we even figured out where you lived. Remember Old Lady Kim, your friendly across-the-hall neighbour?"

 

Jongdae paled. She was a nice woman that just recently hit her 50th birthday. She lived alone with her two cats and she was a widow; she always baked banana muffins for her grandchildren and gave half the batch to Jongdae whenever she made them. She trusted Jongdae enough to feed her cats when she went out of town to visit family, and after she gave him her spare key, he eventually caved and gave her his spare key for when she ran out of baking ingredients or simple things like toilet paper.

 

Minseok chuckled at Jongdae's dumbfounded expression. "'Family visits' for her were trips to see the gang and I - she's got seniority privileges, you know. For the time that you're gone, she'll take over your deals from home and other locations and play the clueless old lady that happens to have experience in art dealing as well, who's covering for her neighbour who's gone out of town for a bit of a vacation, since he trusts her so dearly."

 

He crossed a leg over the other and mused, "she may be old, but she's a great actress and she's been an informant of ours for quite a while. If she plays off the first week or so well, then the drug suppliers won't think anything of it and will continue their trade, only with her as the link between them and consumers."

 

Jongdae chewed the mouthful of information he'd been dealt for the short time Minseok gave him to do so. Then Minseok spoke up again. "The guy we're looking for is called Red in the drug world. But you'll know him as Byung-hun Lee."

 

Jongdae rose a brow. "The charity guy? He has me do deals for him and makes money off of the artwork I sell for him, but its all for charities and such. You know, sick kids charities and-"

 

"And money to spend on himself." Minseok said. "Whichever the case, the guy's loaded with money thanks to the shit he's been supplying for around three years now. It's pissing off the other gangs who are in the drug dealing business, because he's making the most money off of how quickly he's getting his drugs out. Rumor has it, he's been scamming other gangs out of their supply with the money he's making, and when he's raised a step higher in the power department, he moves to the next group to scam. It doesn’t help his claims against that rumor that gang after gang is having their products stolen from right under their noses."

 

"Oh." Was all Jongdae could manage. Minseok rolled is eyes and crossed his arms. "Yeah, 'oh'. He's virtually untouchable and the majority of the time, un-locatable. Finding his location of operation has been impossible to do for the past year and a half, now that he's seemed to reach his prime number of buyers."

 

"You say 'has been' because I'm a possible lead toward where he is." Jongdae concluded. Minseok nodded firmly, arms still crossed over his chest. Jongdae sat, his shoulders slouched in the quiet that followed. What did they expect him to know about Mr. Lee?

 

'Do I even keep calling him Mr. Lee anymore…?' Jongdae shook his head slowly, then shrugged. "I… don't know what exactly I can tell you, Min-" he paused. Corrected himself. "Xiumin."

 

"Look, we're really not expecting a lot. We just need to know what you know, if it's of any use to us."

 

Jongdae furrowed his brows. "Then I can just… go? You guys couldn't have hauled me to wherever the fuck we are now just so that I could tell you what I knew about a client. You could've just smacked me a bit in my apartment and I'd figure something out for you." Minseok seemed to have had an answer on the tip of his tongue, but then he hesitated, shut his mouth, furrowed his brows. He held his arms crossed across his chest as he thought, and Jongdae felt like if he so much as breathed too loudly, Minseok would blow a fuse.

 

What was he doing, coming up with something to replace the answer he was going to give? At this point, Jongdae didn't want anything sugar-coated or changed. He cared about what the hell was going to happen to him, but if he was going to be tortured or killed after he was done with, he wanted to at least get a heads up.

 

"Kris likes his occasional drama. What'll happen with you next is still being discussed," Minseok finally said, "but Kris will probably have someone get back to me on that, if you so desperately want to know." His words were laced partly with dismissiveness and partly with mock, but the tone seemed to dull out a bit as he glanced back at the door. When he brought his gaze back, he shifted his weight to his other side and asked carefully, as if the answer could be dangerous, "how did you know my name?"

 

Jongdae huffed, his stressed face contorting into one of irritation - or at least as much irritation he could muster up under these circumstances. He felt kind of proud of himself, in all honesty; rather than scared shitless as he expected to be moments after waking up over Loey's shoulder, he was stressed, confused and annoyed. Intimidated, definitely, but he wasn't cowering as much as most that knew him would expect him to.

 

"Are you Dory? I said we went to high school together." Minseok's face made no change from its blank state, and Jongdae slouched even further, somewhat defeated. The last thing he should be doing in this situation is feel like a loser because one of his captors didn't remember him from the past, but here he was, sulking. "I get nobody enjoys their high school years, but you could at least have the decency to remember some friends…"

 

"I meant how did you know me in high school. Elaborate on what you said earlier."

 

Jongdae gave a wimpy shrug, lips unknowingly pouted at the feeling of defeat he held. Did everybody he interacted with in high school forget about him? How boring could he have been for someone to forget about his existence entirely?

 

"Uh, when I moved to Seoul, on my first day at the new high school, the principle had you show me around the building so that I knew where everything was. You were the head of student council so you were kind of stuck doing that with any new kid." Minseok just blinked. Then he said, "you sure that was me?"

 

"It was you! Unless the Minseok I knew was cloned for whatever fucking reason to join a gang and kidnap me. The only different thing about you from then is that your cheeks aren't as chubby, you're able to glare at somebody for longer than 10 seconds, and you don't know me - which I think is a load of horse shit. How the hell did you go from an honors student with a scholarship to a damn gang member?"

 

Minseok seemed to self-consciously reach up to his cheeks with one hand as Jongdae concluded his miniature rant, and when he realized Jongdae was actually waiting for an answer to his question, he simply shrugged and said, "some shit happened and here I am."

 

Jongdae gave him a look of annoyance, and Minseok returned it as he said, "pretty sure if I don't remember you, that means you weren't significant enough to remember." Ouch. "You've just got me confused with someone else."

 

"Someone who's identical to you and has the same name? I'm sure."

 

Minseok shot another glare at Jongdae and said, "don't sass me, you little shit." Jongdae's annoyance grew enough for him to snort, and he stood up. "Says the one shorter than me." Minseok's ears turned the tiniest bit of red at the remark, and he flicked Jongdae's forehead rather harshly before backing up a step. "Doesn't beat the fact that I can break your wrist whenever I want to."

 

Jongdae pursed his lips. "Fair enough."

 

Minseok motioned to the bed and turned towards the door. "Sit down. You may as well get comfortable for the time that you're here. Think about what you can tell me about Red while I'm gone - I'll be back around the same time Loey is, assuming I won't be gone long."

 

"Wha- you're just leaving me here?" Jongdae stammered, motioning to the little room around him as if it were a mouldy cell. "Alone?" Minseok unlocked the door with his own key and turned the knob, opening it a sliver before glancing back at Jongdae.

 

"No one's getting in and you're not getting out, either, so yes. Like I said, I'll be back." And with that, the door shut and locked Jongdae in.


End file.
